Latest news with #OklahomaBureauofNarcotics
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese marijuana grows an ongoing problem
At the end of last year, a Chinese citizen, who also resided in Brooklyn, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy in Oklahoma. His co-conspirator was also sentenced to 120 months. U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced that on June 6, 2023, a federal grand jury charged Jeff Weng and co-defendant Tong Lin with conspiracy to possess marijuana plants with intent to distribute. On Jan. 18, 2024, after a two-day trial, a federal jury deliberated about an hour before it found Weng and Lin guilty of drug conspiracy. "This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office, along with assistance from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics," states Troester's announcement. "It is also a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation." Phil Bacharach, director of Communications in the Oklahoma Attorney General's office, said that shortly before 2023, there were more than 12,000 licensed marijuana grows in Oklahoma. "Now, there are fewer than 2,800. We do believe a large part of the success in eradicating illegal marijuana grows is the Attorney General Office's Organized Crime Task Force, which AG [Gentner] Drummond established, and its partnerships with federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement," Bacharach said. "Since the OCTF formation, that work has resulted in 30 indictments, 49 arrests and the confiscation of nearly 227,000 marijuana plants – nearly 110,000 pounds." In response to TDP's question as to whether most of the operations are from elsewhere, Bacharach said the OCTF investigators are finding that much of the control and direction of these illegal marijuana grows are coming from out of state. "We credit tips and the OMMA both," Bacharach said. "It is worth noting that people can register anonymous tips with the AG's office at Bacharach said. He said the cases are all very different, and some multilayered cases can take nearly two years just to fully investigate. "Many of the workers we find are illegal immigrants, but often it is not clear whether they know they are part of an illegal marijuana grow operation," Bacharach said. District Attorney Jack Thorp, District 27, said his office does not know if there are Chinese operations in the Cherokee County area. "Part of that is a good chunk of that work is being handled by the Oklahoma Attorney General's Organized Crime Unit and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics unit," Thorp said. "When they get a target, they tell us and we get involved." Thorp said that in the past, his office has worked on the cases deed-to-deed, but since the AG office put the task force together, his office has stepped back and the AG's office has taken the lead. "We set a specific search parameter and searched actual land deals and deeds that appeared to be potentially suspicious during the initial phase of medical marijuana," Thorp said. "Through that process, we believe we identified 63 illegal grows in Cherokee County." Thorp's office works hand-in-hand with the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority for information on permitting of operations. "There was an operation we were doing about four years ago, where we positioned a person in the OMMA office just to make sure, because these operators were switching these licenses back and forth so fast," Thorp said. "And just as we were getting ready to hit, the license had shifted to a different person." What has happened from those days to now is more cooperation between the OBN and OMMA, and they have dual licensing requirements, Thorp said. "You have to have an OBN license and an OMMA license in order to have these operations," Thorp said. "There has to be certain inspections made and there is some true tracking from seed-to-sell, when people do it correctly." Before those agencies were working together, one agency would have to be checked with and then the other, Thorp said. Thorp said a lot of legislation has been written and passed over the past couple of years on the legal issues of grow operations. "From the beginning of the legalization – the quote from the Colorado Narcotics investigators that came down and did some of the initial training was, 'Oklahoma was the wild, wild West as it related to marijuana,'" Thorp said. "We were growing 10 times more than we could ever supply to all of the licensed dispensaries." Well over half of the grow operations are out of business since the startup of the task force, Thorp said. "There was a situation where a couple of lawyers were investigated and ultimately charged for setting up straw-person operations," Thorp said. Thorp responded to a question from TDP, as to whether there have been any Chinese operations in his district. "I'm sure there was, yes. I was thinking back on the one we were about to hit – it was Hmong," Thorp said. "We've had allegations and investigations into a large Bulgarian group that has been our focus of investigation that I can't get into because it's an ongoing investigation." Thorp's new first assistant district attorney, Rick Incremona, was the Eastern Oklahoma prosecutor for some organized crime cases. "So he had quite a bit of information," Thorp said. "We had a pending case in Wagoner involving him as a prosecutor and there are some cases in Muskogee, Ottawa and LeFlore counties, but none in Cherokee, Adair or Sequoyah counties." Porsha Riley, director of communications with OMMA, said OMMA agents are assigned to the AG's OCTF, and play an active role in combating marijuana-related criminal activity. "We also collaborate closely with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to strengthen enforcement efforts," Riley said.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Stitt demands crackdown on ‘psychoactive marijuana byproducts'
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The governor is demanding a crackdown on what he calls 'psychoactive marijuana byproducts.' Some people often refer to them as 'weed lite' or 'diet weed.' The products, which have the word 'Delta' on the label, along with a number, can be found in gas stations, and can get you high. Gov. Stitt is calling on state agencies to better regulate these products. More pre-rolls coming back positive for mold and yeast 'We knew that coming down the pipeline,' Jeffery Havard, with Havard Industries said. Delta 8 and 10 are extracted from cannabis in a lab, then sold in vapes, dab pens, or edibles. They often give people a milder high. Delta 8 and 10 are legal, meaning anyone over the age of 21 can buy it from places like a gas station, vape shops or even online. Unlike medical marijuana, these products don't get fully tested in labs before they hit the shelves. 'They're addressing this synthetically made like a Delta 8, Delta 10 products of that nature,' Havard said. 'So, I think overall the goal here is to try to address some of these materials that are like basically untested that are on the shelf.' Havard says that without testing, it is hard to determine how strong the products are. Because of the way Delta 8 and 10 are made, heavy metals like nickel can be left behind and ingested. '…and those would never be caught because they're not required to be fully tested,' Havard said. Concerns have now reached the governor's office. In a letter sent to agency heads, he asks for a crackdown on what he calls the 'unlawful manufacturing, distribution, and sale of psychoactive marijuana byproducts.' He also went on to say, 'These compounds, often marketed to young people, have psychoactive properties that threaten the safety and well-being of Oklahomans.' News 4 reached out to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) and the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) about this. We did not hear back from OMMA, but did receive a response from OBN. OBN has been investigating this issue, and we look forward to continuing to work with our federal and state partners to target companies that have been circumventing laws and rules to profit from these harmful products being sold in our state. Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Havard says it is long overdue. 'Eventually, something like this was going to occur as far as trying to look into safety issues with them,' Havard said. 'I think we're finally coming to that point where they're addressing some of the safety concerns with these products.' Gov. Stitt has tasked the state agencies that he reached out to with three things: Coordinated investigations, targeted enforcement, and regulatory assessment. If things don't improve, Havard says there is a possibility the governor could try stripping these products from the shelves entirely. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
4 arrested, 30 lbs. of meth seized during OBN investigation
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, agents made multiple arrests after meth was found during a recent bust. Officials say authorities seized 30 pounds of meth and arrested four people as part of an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking in Oklahoma. LOCAL NEWS: Teen fined hundreds of dollars for doing donuts in Choctaw Creek Park According to the OBN, criminal drug activity and human trafficking can be reported by sending the bureau a Facebook DM. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
1,000 pounds of marijuana found in SW OKC warehouse
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Agents from multiple agencies searched two locations in southwest Oklahoma City for illegal marijuana on Wednesday. It's part of an ongoing investigation across multiple agencies. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said the raids were separate, but the cases are connected. Del City PD seeks help to identify man in theft investigation One raid was in a building of what Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agents called a 'stash location for the black market.' 'Essentially just a warehouse where marijuana would be brought in and and stored until other people as tied to these criminal groups would come and get their portions of these shipments,' said Mark Woodward, with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. That warehouse has an address online for a place called 'Twice Baked Edibles.' The second raid was nearby at 'Green Plus Dispensary' on S Western. 'Our partners at the Attorney General's Office and the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority were simultaneously serving a warrant at the dispensary location that's located right next to the property,' said Woodward. OBN agents found about 1,000 pounds of marijuana inside the warehouse. Wednesday's search is part of an ongoing investigation between the OAG, OMMA, OBN, and OKCPD. Oklahoma City Police seize 3 pounds of fentanyl Agents said the search has been going on for months and there's still more to be done. 'What we want to continue to do is find out who are all the people that are involved, what are all the farms that are growing marijuana and having it brought to this location for sale on the black market?' said Woodward. Woodward also said the warehouse they raided was a Chinese-run organization. 'About 85% of our criminal growers are linked back to organized crime linked to the Chinese because of their involvement in black market marijuana distribution here in the United States. So these are very complex to try to shut down the entire organization, not just one location, whether that's a farm dispensary or a stash location,' said Woodward. At the same time as Wednesday's raid, agents with the Attorney General's Office searched a medical marijuana waste disposal in Logan County. As of right now, there have been no arrests and the investigation is still ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
OBN arrests one in human trafficking investigation
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, one person has been arrested in connection to a human trafficking investigation. Officials say OBN's Human Trafficking Unit arrested 23-year-old Mikayla Lee on Thursday, February 27, for trafficking an underage female. LOCAL NEWS: Federal fugitive last seen in Oklahoma City, police say This investigation began in January of 2025. Evidence showed that Lee was facilitating the trafficking of the victim, including posing advertisements on sex websites and arranging meetings for the victim. According to the OBN, Lee was arrested and is facing charges of Human Trafficking of a Minor, Child Sexual Exploitation, Transporting a Person for the Purpose of Prostitution and Using Computer Access to Violate State Statute. Citizens and victims can learn more, get access to resources, or anonymously report suspected human trafficking by visiting OBN's 'YOU ARE NOT ALONE' page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
